Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world’s oldest and largest operational space launch facility where you can clearly see the Energia, Soyuz and Proton launch platforms. Located in what is now Kazakhstan, the facility was named Baikonur to confuse the West of its exact location, as the town of Baikonur is some 320km away (although anyone who has flown on the bright orange budget airline would have expected this). On the base we can also see a full-scale model of the Ptichka – the second of Russia’s Space Shuttle designs. The Ptichka construction began in 1988 and followed the Buran,…